IRVINE, Calif. and EDMONTON, AB--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX:COR) and TEC Edmonton on behalf of The Governors of the University of Alberta jointly announced that they have entered into an exclusive Patent License Agreement that could broaden the use of Cortex’s AMPAKINE® technology to prevent and treat opiate- and barbiturate-induced respiratory depression. University of Alberta Professor Dr. John J. Greer has demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo animal models that selected AMPAKINE compounds can enhance respiratory drive and breathing rhythm at the level of the brainstem. While it has been reported that only 0.5%–1.2% of total adverse drug events caused by prescription medications are respiratory in nature, these account for 25%–30% of drug-induced deaths. Opiates and barbiturates are the primary drugs classes responsible for these effects. These events usually occur during the dose adjustment period or when different central nervous depressants are taken together without checking with a pharmacist or physician.
